Renko Pass Node

Renko Brick Direction — Series Input

AdvancedPrice ActionPass

Overview

The Renko Pass Node applies the Renko brick algorithm to a series input, producing a direction signal that only changes when price moves by a fixed brickSize in one direction. It completely ignores time and small price fluctuations — each bar's output reflects the last confirmed Renko brick direction.

Renko charts originated in Japan and are one of the clearest trend visualization tools — noise below the brick size is filtered out entirely. As a Pass node it accepts any numeric series, enabling Renko-style direction filtering on any derived indicator or price transform stream.

Algorithm

Initialize: brickTop = series[0], brickBottom = series[0] − brickSize, direction = 0

For each bar i:

if series[i] >= brickTop + brickSize:

brickBottom = brickTop; brickTop += brickSize; direction = +1

else if series[i] <= brickBottom − brickSize:

brickTop = brickBottom; brickBottom −= brickSize; direction = −1

Output[i] = direction

Output: +1 (up brick), −1 (down brick), 0 (no brick yet). No warm-up — recursive from bar 0.

Parameters

Parameter	Default	Description
brickSize	1.0	Fixed price distance (in input units) required to register a new Renko brick

Inputs & Outputs

Slot	Direction	Type	Description
input	Input	{ values, timestamps }	Any numeric series (price, indicator, etc.)
values	Output	(number \| null)[]	Renko direction: +1 (up brick) or −1 (down brick); 0 before first brick
timestamps	Output	number[]	Unix timestamps aligned to input

Use Cases

Trend Direction Filter

Apply Renko Pass to close prices to produce a clean trend direction signal — trade long only when direction is +1, short only when −1. The fixed brick size ensures only moves exceeding the brickSize are counted, eliminating minor fluctuations.

Renko on Indicators

Feed Renko Pass a volume series or oscillator to detect meaningful directional shifts in indicator values — e.g., apply it to ATR output to identify when volatility has made a genuine structural move vs. routine fluctuation.

Choppy Market Detection

Count the number of Renko direction changes in a fixed time window — frequent flips (many bricks in both directions) indicate a choppy market; persistent direction indicates a trending market. Use this as a regime signal to switch strategies.

Tips & Best Practices

Scale brickSize to the Instrument

The default brickSize=1.0 is in the units of the input series. For a $50,000 asset, brickSize=1 is nearly insignificant; for a $5 asset, it's 20%. Typically set brickSize to 0.1–1% of the typical price level, or use a multiple of ATR.

ATR-Based Brick Size

For adaptive Renko, compute brickSize as a fraction of ATR (e.g., 0.5×ATR14) and update it periodically. This makes the filter adapt to changing volatility — tighter bricks in quiet markets, larger bricks in volatile markets.

Output 0 Before First Brick

The direction output is 0 until the first brick is confirmed — when price has moved more than one brickSize from the starting level. Filter out 0 values when using the output as a directional signal to avoid false neutrality.